Five-year-old running in Trenton Half Marathon

By
Megan Goldschmidt, The Trentonian

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

TRENTON — Many marathon runners are people in their 20s or older, trying to get into a healthier lifestyle or maintaining the one they hope will bring their body good benefits. But 5-year-old Anthony Russo wanted to start his healthy lifestyle early.

Russo, a Jackson resident, will be running in the Trenton Half Marathon this weekend. His father Nick said they got the idea when a buddy of his who trained for Ironman competitions saw something special in his son.

“Daniel Repetti, he is like 149th in the world. He has been giving us so much advice since Anthony started. As a dad everyone compliments your kids and that’s what I thought it was a friend complimenting my kid. But as time progressed it was like ‘Wow I can’t believe this kid is doing this,’” Nick Russo said.

The 5-year-old said he is doing the marathon so he can be healthy, strong, and just to do it.

Thirteen miles, approximately the distance of a half marathon, is his longest run to date, and Russo completed that in two hours and 37 minutes. According to running.about.com, the average time for an amateur runner to complete a half marathon is around two hours.

Keeping it a family activity, Russo usually runs with his mother, who works in Trenton as a middle school teacher. The boy said they play a fun game on their runs where they pretend people are pirates.

When asked what he hopes to happen on race day, Russo had the answer every runner dreams about.